Mosaic, a Dorset charity supporting bereaved children, welcomes the decision to introduce grief education into schools. This is something the charity has long campaigned for and will be invaluable in providing a greater understanding of the impact of bereavement on children in Dorset by their teachers and peers.
It will also complement the help given in schools where Mosaic offer Bereavement Cafés to students who have lost someone important to them, and can spend time with a group, remembering the person who died and talking about their feelings, as well as celebrating their life.
Isabelle, 17, who has benefited through Mosaic’s counselling following her father’s death, commented:
“As a bereaved child, I got very little information or help with understanding and coping with my grief from school. Hearing the positive news that grief education has been added to the curriculum, I think young people will have a chance to learn about loss and properly understand it with the help from teachers and other students - hopefully it will help them feel less isolated.
“The help that I got from Mosaic helped me to develop coping strategies and feel less isolated, both when I was younger and in secondary school. It was very valuable, and I’d like to think that in future there will be more discussion about bereavement and grief, and more openness and acceptance.”
One child in every classroom has been bereaved before the age of 18, according to research. The government recently announced that it will incorporate grief and loss education into its statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSE) guidance in secondary schools.
This long-awaited change will support teachers to open up conversations about grief. The idea is that this will help to equip future generations with the empathy, resilience, and understanding they need to cope with bereavement, as well as developing more understanding of how grief can affect an individual.
Mosaic gave support to over 400 children last year in 2024 – with nearly 2,000 hours of specialist bereavement counselling and activity days. Some statutory funding is given to support children; however, all other money needs to be raised through fundraising and charitable trust grants.
